The Church of Pergamos

Aesculapius, god of medicine

"To the angel of the church in Pergamos write, 
These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword: I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. Thus you have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate.
Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no man knows except him who receives it."

Revelation 2:12-17

Jesus has a 'sharp two-edged sword' coming out of His mouth (Rev 1:19). Nothing is hidden from Him. He can divide between the soul and the spirit of man knowing the intents of the heart. Pergamos was the center of emperor worship, having a 200 ft statue of Zeus. They also worshipped Aesclepius, the god of healing whose symbol was the serpent. Doctors today still use this symbol to identify their profession. I am not saying the use of medicine is wrong, but putting medicine or doctors in the place of God is wrong!

Pergamos was the center of political, religious, and social idolatry in Asia. No wonder Jesus said it was where Satan dwells. Satan lived in Pergamos and had his throne there and Pergamos is in modern day Turkey. (It is not surprising to me to find that many of the last-day wars either begin with or involve Turkey. Although it has been in NATO and friendly to the U.S. and Israel, expect that to change.)

Smyrna was not the only church to suffer persecution. Here in Pergamos Antipas was martyred. This social and political pressure from the government of Pergamos not only led to some in the church compromising with idolatry but also to sexual immorality. Faced with martyrdom for being too obedient or different, many were willing to allow the world to have an inroad into the church. Satan was able to deceive them with the spirit of Balaam. (You remember Balaam, who could not curse Israel so he instead advised Israel's enemies to entice her into immoral relationships, knowing this would weaken her.) Pergamos also had those who held to the teaching of the Nicolaitans,  which Christ hates.

Why does Christ react so strongly to sexual immorality? Because, the Church is called to be the Bride of Christ and sexual impurity is the same as apostasy and the breaking of covenant relationship.

The same spirit is at work in the Church today. Rampant divorce and remarriage amounts to the same problem Pergamos had. Jesus likens it to adultery.

"But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. And the two shall become one flesh; so then they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. 

In the house His disciples also asked Him again about the same matter. So He said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery."

Mark 10:2-12

The Apostles also taught the same thing (Rom. 7:2-3; 1 Cor. 5:11. 7:10-11, 18-20). This is a serious problem. Adultery will keep us out of heaven! But, is it a more serious problem than any other sin? No, because all sin is a result of lawlessness. Jesus taught -

"Because lawlessness (wickedness) will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved." - Matthew 24:12-13

Paul even addresses the situation of a believer and an unbeliever being married. He teaches that if the unbeliever is willing to stay married, the believer should not  divorce, but if the unbeliever leaves, the  believer is not to blame. Yet, they are not given the right to remarry (1 Cor 7:11, 12, 15, 17).

What do believers do if they divorce and remarry as believers? The same as you do for any other sin - repent. Until you do, the devil has a foothold in your life. Nevertheless, even though you can be forgiven, that may not erase the harm that has been done, especially if children are involved. Many people have been divorced and remarried before they became believers. To them, the Scriptures say remain in the situation you were in when you came to the Lord.

The best approach is to teach God's standards and live by them. Then believers should not be yoked to unbelievers. Don't rely on the hope that you will change them after marriage. Why hope that God will honor your prayers after you have rebelled and disobeyed Him? I do not say these things in a legalistic way. The only way to bring peace and stability into our lives is to obey God's rules for living.

We have come to a time in history when we can no longer trust society, it is too spoiled by lawlessness. We must trust only God and His precepts. The political system is corrupt and truth takes a back seat to power. The education system is presenting false idols of humanism (the religion of man) as the standards to live by. The religious system, like Pergamos, has allowed the world to influence it. Society is filled with violence and sexual immorality.

Judgment is about to fall on America because the shedding of innocent blood through abortion and because of lawlessness. Only those who take the message given to the church of Pergamos to heart will be protected from it by the Lord.

Jesus gives the way to overcome these deceptions - the sword of the Lord. Paul also refers to this sword as the word of God -

"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." - Eph. 6:17

Before Jesus Christ returns, the Church must purge itself of all impurities, as it declares in Revelation 19:7 -

"Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

Notice, it is the Bride that makes herself ready! There is a separation coming between the holy and the profane, between the fully committed and the 'lukewarm', between the 'faithful even unto death' and those who compromise with the world system because it is easier.


Even so, come Lord Jesus, Maranatha!